Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Stone - Ruination IPA
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Junior's Chicken
If you have never tried Peruvian rotisserie chicken, you are really missing out.. unless that trip would be to Junior's Chicken on E. Diamond Ave. in Gaithersburg, MD. Peruvian chicken Pollo A La Brasa restaurants are usually quick eateries that specialize in well spiced chicken rotisserie cooked in a special oven, called a Rotombo, over hot coals. Pollo A La Brasa loosely translates to Hot Coal Chicken, so if you ever see a sign for that, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Generally the chicken is marinated in spices like garlic, ginger, pepper, salt, rosemary, cumin, etc, and turns out amazingly juicy due to being rotated while cooked, so the juices stay moving around inside of the chicken instead of moving out. The maple wood charcoal used to cook the chickens imparts some amazing flavor and should stand out just a enough so it's almost like another spice that the chicken has taken on.
Junior's failed on both of those accounts. The chicken lacked much spice and the coal flavor did not stand out. Maybe it was bad luck, but I've never had such bad luck at other Peruvian favorites of mine.
Some more authentic sides that are served, are rice and beans, salsa, fried Yuca, and fried Plantains. If you've never tried Fried Yuca or Plantains, I highly recommend them. Yuca is very similar to potato, a starchy root, but a bit firmer with a slightly different taste. Plantains are similar to bananas, but are firmer and not as sweet, so they're usually fried to soften their texture and bring out a mild sweetness. Sometimes they are tossed with (brown) sugar to sweeten them as a desert.
SAUCES! Your food is usually served with some of the most delicious green and yellow sauces. The green is a spicy pepper sauce for those who like the fresh flavor of heat and the yellow a delicious creamy sauce that's something like a spice flavored mayo. They are both delicious!
Junior's fried Yuca was good and their yellow sauce was pretty good. The yellow sauce came in hot and mild, but I didn't really get any heat from the hot one, and they weren't much different in flavor.
So, definitely seek out your nearest Pollo A La Brasa.. but if you're in Gaithersburg, I'd choose a different one then Junior's... Then let me know how it is!
Generally the chicken is marinated in spices like garlic, ginger, pepper, salt, rosemary, cumin, etc, and turns out amazingly juicy due to being rotated while cooked, so the juices stay moving around inside of the chicken instead of moving out. The maple wood charcoal used to cook the chickens imparts some amazing flavor and should stand out just a enough so it's almost like another spice that the chicken has taken on.
Junior's failed on both of those accounts. The chicken lacked much spice and the coal flavor did not stand out. Maybe it was bad luck, but I've never had such bad luck at other Peruvian favorites of mine.
Some more authentic sides that are served, are rice and beans, salsa, fried Yuca, and fried Plantains. If you've never tried Fried Yuca or Plantains, I highly recommend them. Yuca is very similar to potato, a starchy root, but a bit firmer with a slightly different taste. Plantains are similar to bananas, but are firmer and not as sweet, so they're usually fried to soften their texture and bring out a mild sweetness. Sometimes they are tossed with (brown) sugar to sweeten them as a desert.
SAUCES! Your food is usually served with some of the most delicious green and yellow sauces. The green is a spicy pepper sauce for those who like the fresh flavor of heat and the yellow a delicious creamy sauce that's something like a spice flavored mayo. They are both delicious!
Junior's fried Yuca was good and their yellow sauce was pretty good. The yellow sauce came in hot and mild, but I didn't really get any heat from the hot one, and they weren't much different in flavor.
So, definitely seek out your nearest Pollo A La Brasa.. but if you're in Gaithersburg, I'd choose a different one then Junior's... Then let me know how it is!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Tomato & Cilantro Marinated Chicken Kebabs
If you eat chicken at least five nights a week like I do, you're always looking for new ways to spice it up. This is a very simple dish to make, that turns out some tasty chicken, great for mid-week dinners. You do have to plan ahead a little, getting some ingredients for the marinade during your weekly shopping, and you need to marinate the night before.. but it'll be worth it!
Ingredients:
2 small plum tomatoes or 1 large regular tomato, grated on a box grater (large holes on cheese grater)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
Some kebab skewers and a grill
Steps:
1. In a large bowl, combine the grated tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and cilantro.
2. Add in the chicken and coat it thoroughly.
3. Cover it in a container or zip lock bag and let it marinade over night.
4. The next night, thread your chicken on some metal skewers or wood skewers (soak the wood skewers in water to help prevent them from catching fire.), leaving some space between each piece of chicken when possible.
5. Brush the kebabs with a little olive oil and add some salt and pepper to your liking.
6. Grill over Medium-High heat, turning every few minutes, for about 15 minutes, until lightly charred and cooked through.
Simple as that! Server with some Pita or Naan from the store, maybe some hummus and tabouli, and you have yourself a really nice mid-week treat!
Ingredients:
2 small plum tomatoes or 1 large regular tomato, grated on a box grater (large holes on cheese grater)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast, cut into 2-inch pieces
Some kebab skewers and a grill
Steps:
1. In a large bowl, combine the grated tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and cilantro.
2. Add in the chicken and coat it thoroughly.
3. Cover it in a container or zip lock bag and let it marinade over night.
4. The next night, thread your chicken on some metal skewers or wood skewers (soak the wood skewers in water to help prevent them from catching fire.), leaving some space between each piece of chicken when possible.
5. Brush the kebabs with a little olive oil and add some salt and pepper to your liking.
6. Grill over Medium-High heat, turning every few minutes, for about 15 minutes, until lightly charred and cooked through.
Simple as that! Server with some Pita or Naan from the store, maybe some hummus and tabouli, and you have yourself a really nice mid-week treat!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Avalon - Merlot 2009
The Merlot still packs the fruit, from raspberry to cherry, but offers a little less tannins over the Cabernet, which many will find appealing. It's a nice dark color and a smooth drink that's overall very nice. I would still take the Cabernet over the Merlot usually, but it offers a nice change. Should pair well with just about anything you eat.
I would give it a try and let me know what you think!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Smoked BBQ Chicken
Finally I get to write about my favorite food, barbecue! Nothing like cooking slow and low for many hours, imparting a lovely smoke flavor into the meat, breaking down all the fat into delicious flavor, turning even the toughest of meats into tender, juicy mouthfuls! Bringing you back to days of cowboys and the open range!
Smoking is not that difficult, and you do it on a grill using a wood chip box or in a smoker if you have one. I find you can get a lot more smoke flavor out a smoker, and after doing it a few times on the grill, I decided to invest about $200 dollars into a Landmann Smoker.
The $200 dollar one can hold 2 whole chickens or 3 briskets, or a whole lot of little things... which is usually plenty of room.
The $300 lacks the separate drawers for the water pan and the wood chip box, and opening the one door will let a lot of heat escape. This can be particularly troublesome when cooking around 225 degrees for 8+ hours and it can slow you down 30 minutes every time you open the door.
So, this time around I decided to smoke some chicken, drumsticks and thighs to be exact. I didn't have a lot of time, and these pieces of meat only need around 3 hours on the smoker to be completed.
Steps:
1. Brine in the fridge
2. Drain and rinse
3. Rub and let sit in the fridge
4. Fill the wood chunk box
5. Fill the water pan with apple juice
6. Put all your meat on the grates
7. Run the smoker around 225 degrees
8. Replace wood chunks when they stop smoking, roughly every 45 minutes.
9. Refill the water pan if it gets low, for a 3 hour smoke that wouldn't be nessasary.
10. When your meat hits the right temp (180 for chicken), Eat!!!
Some other meats require a little extra work, but I'll get into that in a future blog.
When I do chicken, I always brine the meat overnight in the fridge. This involves soaking them in a water and salt mixture, with some seasoning, to fill every tiny crevice with some moisture and flavor. Chicken can tend to dry out if you cook it slow and low for a few hours, so this helps with keeping the chicken forever juicy. It's best to use a food safe container and adjust the brine based on how much water you can fit in the container such that the chicken is fully submerged.
Brine:
1 Gallon of Water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
2 tsp. celery seed
After a good 10-20 hour soak in the brine I drain all the water and rinse the chicken a little. Then I apply a dry rub of seasoning, rubbing it onto all the chicken. I use my own secret blend, but Dinosaur BBQ has been nice enough to share their recipe. You could use any store bought rub you like as well.
Chicken Rub:
This rub comes right out of the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook. One of the best cookbooks I own. I've had well over a dozen items out of it and all have been extremely excellent, from bacon wrapped meatloaf to mac & cheese shepherd's pie.
I use what's called a vertical smoker and it has the meat door, and two drawers. The heat source is a propane tank hooked to a burner that's on the very bottom.
The top drawer is the liquid drawer. I use apple juice. The heat to causes the juice to vaporize and provide some moisture to keep the meats above it juicy. This is an advantage of a vertical smoker.
The bottom drawer is the wood chunk box. You place 2-3 wood chunks in here, and have to swap them out about every 45 minutes to keep continuous smoke being applied to your meat. When you stop seeing any smoke rise out of the smoker you know it's time for a change of the chunks.
You want to run the smoker around 225 degrees the whole time. Put in your wood chunks and fire it up. About the time you hit 225, you should start getting some smoke from your wood chunks.
You can get wood chunks online or at most places that sell smokers like Home Depot of Bass Pro Shops. I used Hickory this time, because it would impart a strong smoke flavor and with only 3 hours of smoking, it's best to use Hickory if you like a lot of smoke flavor. You can play around with different types of woods based on what you're trying to smoke.
Here is the smoker fully loaded with all my chicken, getting ready to be loaded with smoky deliciousness!
I use some meat thermometers to make sure the meat has reached the correct temperature. For chicken I let it hit 180 degrees internally. This thermometer also captures the temperature inside the smoker. It's specifically designed to capture low temperatures required for low and slow smoking.
Slight smoke, juicy, bbq seasoned. Add your favorite BBQ sauce and you're good to go! So delicious!
Smoking is not that difficult, and you do it on a grill using a wood chip box or in a smoker if you have one. I find you can get a lot more smoke flavor out a smoker, and after doing it a few times on the grill, I decided to invest about $200 dollars into a Landmann Smoker.
The $200 dollar one can hold 2 whole chickens or 3 briskets, or a whole lot of little things... which is usually plenty of room.
The $300 lacks the separate drawers for the water pan and the wood chip box, and opening the one door will let a lot of heat escape. This can be particularly troublesome when cooking around 225 degrees for 8+ hours and it can slow you down 30 minutes every time you open the door.
So, this time around I decided to smoke some chicken, drumsticks and thighs to be exact. I didn't have a lot of time, and these pieces of meat only need around 3 hours on the smoker to be completed.
Steps:
1. Brine in the fridge
2. Drain and rinse
3. Rub and let sit in the fridge
4. Fill the wood chunk box
5. Fill the water pan with apple juice
6. Put all your meat on the grates
7. Run the smoker around 225 degrees
8. Replace wood chunks when they stop smoking, roughly every 45 minutes.
9. Refill the water pan if it gets low, for a 3 hour smoke that wouldn't be nessasary.
10. When your meat hits the right temp (180 for chicken), Eat!!!
Some other meats require a little extra work, but I'll get into that in a future blog.
When I do chicken, I always brine the meat overnight in the fridge. This involves soaking them in a water and salt mixture, with some seasoning, to fill every tiny crevice with some moisture and flavor. Chicken can tend to dry out if you cook it slow and low for a few hours, so this helps with keeping the chicken forever juicy. It's best to use a food safe container and adjust the brine based on how much water you can fit in the container such that the chicken is fully submerged.
Brine:
1 Gallon of Water
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
2 tsp. celery seed
After a good 10-20 hour soak in the brine I drain all the water and rinse the chicken a little. Then I apply a dry rub of seasoning, rubbing it onto all the chicken. I use my own secret blend, but Dinosaur BBQ has been nice enough to share their recipe. You could use any store bought rub you like as well.
Chicken Rub:
1/2 cup paprika
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated garlic
6 tablespoons granulated onion
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated garlic
6 tablespoons granulated onion
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
After rubbing the rub all over your chicken, wrap them up good and let them sit in the fridge for up to a day. This time I took them out of the brine the morning I was going to smoke, put on the rub and let them sit for 6 hours until I was ready to smoke the chicken.
I use what's called a vertical smoker and it has the meat door, and two drawers. The heat source is a propane tank hooked to a burner that's on the very bottom.
The top drawer is the liquid drawer. I use apple juice. The heat to causes the juice to vaporize and provide some moisture to keep the meats above it juicy. This is an advantage of a vertical smoker.
The bottom drawer is the wood chunk box. You place 2-3 wood chunks in here, and have to swap them out about every 45 minutes to keep continuous smoke being applied to your meat. When you stop seeing any smoke rise out of the smoker you know it's time for a change of the chunks.
You want to run the smoker around 225 degrees the whole time. Put in your wood chunks and fire it up. About the time you hit 225, you should start getting some smoke from your wood chunks.
You can get wood chunks online or at most places that sell smokers like Home Depot of Bass Pro Shops. I used Hickory this time, because it would impart a strong smoke flavor and with only 3 hours of smoking, it's best to use Hickory if you like a lot of smoke flavor. You can play around with different types of woods based on what you're trying to smoke.
Here is the smoker fully loaded with all my chicken, getting ready to be loaded with smoky deliciousness!
I use some meat thermometers to make sure the meat has reached the correct temperature. For chicken I let it hit 180 degrees internally. This thermometer also captures the temperature inside the smoker. It's specifically designed to capture low temperatures required for low and slow smoking.
Here is the chicken all done cooking! Bet you wish you could have some!
Slight smoke, juicy, bbq seasoned. Add your favorite BBQ sauce and you're good to go! So delicious!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Yirasai - Sushi
Sometimes I just want some dinner quickly. I don't want to dress too nice, or drive downtown, and try to park. I don't care about wine or beer list and I don't want a crowd. I just want some good food and fast. For Bethesda area residents, Yirasai is this kind of place. Off River Road in a small plaza called West Wood Center II, Yirasai is pretty much the only restaurant there... Sorry Dominos, you don't count. There is plenty of parking, and I've never seen much of a crowd so you can always get right in.
As you enter, the sushi bar is on your right and the two Sushi-Masters are always quick to great you with a nod and a friendly smile. The atmosphere isn't much, it's tiny and clean, and since I'm here for nothing more then quality sushi, that's all I need.
I've been getting sushi from this place for a few years. The prices are reasonable for the area, there are plenty of options and the sushi is good. It's not my favorite place, but It satisfies all the of the criteria I stated above, so they get my business more often then not.
Lately they've really stepped up their game, and this visit I found the quality rivaled the best sushi places I've been.
We started with some delicious tempura, which had a nice light batter and was cooked perfectly. Normally we wouldn't get this, but we were so hungry, I broke down and got it. Shrimp, onions, sweet potato, and green beans, served with a traditional tempura sauce for dipping. All excellent.
Moving on to the sushi, we went with a wide range of choices. Spicy Tuna roll, Spicy Crazy roll, Shrimp Tempura roll, Japanese Bagel roll, a Tuna and Crab roll and some Spicy Tempura Tuna Nigiri. Nigiri being when you have the fish laid on top of some rice.
It was all very fresh and very delicious. It really hits the spot when you're in need of some sushi. If you're in the area, I wouldn't give trying it out a second thought.
Yirasai
5110 Ridgefield Rd # 215,
Bethesda, MD 20816-3346
As you enter, the sushi bar is on your right and the two Sushi-Masters are always quick to great you with a nod and a friendly smile. The atmosphere isn't much, it's tiny and clean, and since I'm here for nothing more then quality sushi, that's all I need.
I've been getting sushi from this place for a few years. The prices are reasonable for the area, there are plenty of options and the sushi is good. It's not my favorite place, but It satisfies all the of the criteria I stated above, so they get my business more often then not.
Lately they've really stepped up their game, and this visit I found the quality rivaled the best sushi places I've been.
We started with some delicious tempura, which had a nice light batter and was cooked perfectly. Normally we wouldn't get this, but we were so hungry, I broke down and got it. Shrimp, onions, sweet potato, and green beans, served with a traditional tempura sauce for dipping. All excellent.
Moving on to the sushi, we went with a wide range of choices. Spicy Tuna roll, Spicy Crazy roll, Shrimp Tempura roll, Japanese Bagel roll, a Tuna and Crab roll and some Spicy Tempura Tuna Nigiri. Nigiri being when you have the fish laid on top of some rice.
It was all very fresh and very delicious. It really hits the spot when you're in need of some sushi. If you're in the area, I wouldn't give trying it out a second thought.
Yirasai
5110 Ridgefield Rd # 215,
Bethesda, MD 20816-3346
Friday, June 10, 2011
Kung Pao Chicken!
Thought I'd give a couple new recipes a try this week. The first one a modification on Graham Elliot's Kung Pao Turkey Drumsticks featured in Food & Wine magazine. He's the culinary director for Lollapalooza where they serve this dish and you might have seen him as a judge on Masterchef recently.
This simple recipe produced some seriously tasty Kung Pao, and will put to shame much of what you've probably eaten from Chinese restaurants. I was blown away by how great it was!
I decided to use chicken instead of turkey, and breast instead of drumsticks. I grilled the chicken instead of pan fried. I used the breast whole, but after completing the recipe, i think I should have chopped the chicken into little pieces and tossed them with the sauce. That's what it's all about. Take a recipe, try it out, play with it, and make modifications as you learn!
Ingredients:
A honey glaze (optional, I don't think it added much to it, the sauce is so good you don't need this.)
1/3 cup honey
1 tbs. minced fresh ginger
Kung Pao Sauce
3 tbs. minced fresh ginger (an inch on ginger root is roughly a tbs. Peel the ginger then finely mince)
1 medium shallot, minced
3 garlic gloves, minced
2 tbs. mirin (I didn't have this, so I used 2 tbs. of cooking sherry and a tsp. of sugar as a substitute)
3 tbs. rice vinegar
6 tbs. soy sauce (we used low sodium)
2 tbs. hoisin sauce
1 tbs. sambal oelek or another Asian hot sauce
Meat
3-4 chicken breast, or any chicken or turkey pieces.
Coating
1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped
2 scallions, minced
However you want to cook your meat, you can get that started while you're working on the sauce. I just grilled my chicken with a little salt, for roughly 25 minutes.
If you want to make the honey glaze:
In a small saucepan, bring the honey and 1 tbs. of ginger to a simmer. Let cool and then strain into a bowl. Basically you're making some ginger infused honey to drizzle over your chicken or turkey.
Kung Pao sauce:
While mincing all your minced items, heat 2 tbs. canola oil over low heat. Add the shallot and cooking over low heat, stirring until softened, about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and 3 tbs. fresh ginger, cooking over low heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the mirin (or substitute) and vinegar and simmer until slightly reduced, around 2 minutes. Add in the soy sauce and hoisin, simmering until slightly thickened, around 1 minute.
You should end up with something like this:
Then stir in the hot sauce. I didn't have any sambal oelek, but I had some of this stuff.. so I used a little. You could leave it out, use a little chili flakes, or get some Asian hot sauce, whatever your taste.
You can leave your sauce on simmer or low while your chicken is finishing up.
The original recipe called for pan frying turkey drum sticks, but I decided to grill some chicken breast instead.
When your meat is done, toss it with the sauce and get it nice and coated. The idea is then to roll it in the chopped peanut and scallion mixture in a bowl or pie tin. Without skin, my sauce didn't stick that well to the chicken, so I ended up pouring it on top and then applying the peanut and scallion mixture.
If you're going to chop up the chicken like I will do the next time I make this, just toss your chicken with the peanut and scallion mixture. If you make the ginger honey, drizzle it on top too.
The sauce is outstanding, and goes really well on rice too, so it's a great pairing to make together.
Try this sauce, it will blow your mind and is well worth the little effort to make it. You won't believe it. Spice up that everyday chicken!
This simple recipe produced some seriously tasty Kung Pao, and will put to shame much of what you've probably eaten from Chinese restaurants. I was blown away by how great it was!
I decided to use chicken instead of turkey, and breast instead of drumsticks. I grilled the chicken instead of pan fried. I used the breast whole, but after completing the recipe, i think I should have chopped the chicken into little pieces and tossed them with the sauce. That's what it's all about. Take a recipe, try it out, play with it, and make modifications as you learn!
Ingredients:
A honey glaze (optional, I don't think it added much to it, the sauce is so good you don't need this.)
1/3 cup honey
1 tbs. minced fresh ginger
Kung Pao Sauce
3 tbs. minced fresh ginger (an inch on ginger root is roughly a tbs. Peel the ginger then finely mince)
1 medium shallot, minced
3 garlic gloves, minced
2 tbs. mirin (I didn't have this, so I used 2 tbs. of cooking sherry and a tsp. of sugar as a substitute)
3 tbs. rice vinegar
6 tbs. soy sauce (we used low sodium)
2 tbs. hoisin sauce
1 tbs. sambal oelek or another Asian hot sauce
Meat
3-4 chicken breast, or any chicken or turkey pieces.
Coating
1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts, chopped
2 scallions, minced
However you want to cook your meat, you can get that started while you're working on the sauce. I just grilled my chicken with a little salt, for roughly 25 minutes.
If you want to make the honey glaze:
In a small saucepan, bring the honey and 1 tbs. of ginger to a simmer. Let cool and then strain into a bowl. Basically you're making some ginger infused honey to drizzle over your chicken or turkey.
Kung Pao sauce:
While mincing all your minced items, heat 2 tbs. canola oil over low heat. Add the shallot and cooking over low heat, stirring until softened, about 4 minutes. Add in the garlic and 3 tbs. fresh ginger, cooking over low heat for 2 minutes. Stir in the mirin (or substitute) and vinegar and simmer until slightly reduced, around 2 minutes. Add in the soy sauce and hoisin, simmering until slightly thickened, around 1 minute.
You should end up with something like this:
The original recipe called for pan frying turkey drum sticks, but I decided to grill some chicken breast instead.
When your meat is done, toss it with the sauce and get it nice and coated. The idea is then to roll it in the chopped peanut and scallion mixture in a bowl or pie tin. Without skin, my sauce didn't stick that well to the chicken, so I ended up pouring it on top and then applying the peanut and scallion mixture.
If you're going to chop up the chicken like I will do the next time I make this, just toss your chicken with the peanut and scallion mixture. If you make the ginger honey, drizzle it on top too.
The sauce is outstanding, and goes really well on rice too, so it's a great pairing to make together.
Try this sauce, it will blow your mind and is well worth the little effort to make it. You won't believe it. Spice up that everyday chicken!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Buzz Bakery
In the cupcake wars of the greater Washington, DC area Buzz Bakery takes the cake! Ok, that was lame.. seriously though, In my weekend of eating debauchery, I picked up a Mocha and 2 cupcakes to share with my wife, from the aptly named Buzz Bakery recently erected in the Ballston area. From what I hear, they have become known for their quality coffee and sweet treats.
Now I'm a Starbucks guy.. I'll admit it. So when it comes to Mocha, I'm used to a thick, rich, overly chocolatey syrupy kind of drink... and That's not what you should expect, nor what I got from Buzz. It seemed like a overly milky latte, light in texture and really light in chocolate flavor.
However, as I drank it, it kept becoming better and better.. I could taste the espresso and the chocolate was becoming more evident. You see, this is because all the yummy real chocolatey goodness was sitting in the bottom of the cup. For shame. I could tell they used fresh shaved chocolate and it was delicious, it's just hard to melt that fast enough to be evenly distributed. I did like the ability to taste the true underlying coffee, an attribute you don't really get with a Starbucks Mocha. So, if I get around to Buzz again, I'll give it another go and be sure to stir it up myself.
Now on to the good stuff, The Cupcakes!
What we have here is an Espresso Buttercream with Oreo shavings Chocolate Cupcake and a Double Chocolate Cupcake. If I'm going to indulge, it might as well be with chocolate. It doesn't seem crazy that cupcakes are such a huge fad, and have been for awhile. In a country where excess is a problem, grabbing a small little cake seems less devious.. but I'm not fooled. $3 bucks is pretty much standard for decadent cupcakes in this area, as crazy as that seems. I mean, really.. just how much ingrediants go into these little guys? How many cupcakes could I make on my own for the same amount of money? I guess on the plus side, I'm paying to have my one little treat and to be able to not eat another dozen if I did make them myself. That's one way to stay healthy.
These cupcakes were delicious! The cake was super moist and chocolatey. You can tell they use quality ingredients. The butter cream frosting is where they really outshine other cupcakes I've had. The frosting is extremely airy and light, bursting with flavor and rich. The espresso really surpassed the double chocolate in comparison, with a true rich espresso flavor offering a good contrast to the Oreo shavings above and the chocolate cake below.
If you love cupcakes and you're crossing the area to find the best, I do suggest you stop in and give Buzz a shot.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Rustico
As far as restaurants go, I've never been much for new city construction that feels like a pop up strip mall, and lacking any sort of charm and history. But give me outdoor seating, sunshine, great friends, a decent water feature and a limitless beer selection, and you'll probably win me over.
This is what Rustico did, in Arlington, VA near the Ballston Common Shopping Center, one fine Saturday afternoon.
Their brunch menu and hundreds of beer selections could easily please just about anyone capable of making decisions in the face of such diversity. If I worked or lived in the area, this would easily be a top choice for happy hour and my waistline would be in trouble.
The draft menu, broken down by profiles, from Crisp to Hop to Smoke and Fruit & Spice, each beer coming in a taste size for those troubled by decision or wanting to explore, or a full glass for the people who know just what they want and go for it. If the 30 some drafts aren't enough, there is a second bottle menu with hundreds to choose from, so I'm sure they have something you'll like.
Their online Ballston draft menu seems to be missing a page, but I went with the Firestone Double Jack IPA, hearing great things about it in comparison to my favorite Dogfish Head 90 min. They are very similar in taste, hoppy, piney, sweet malt, and both outstanding beers. I would say the Double Jack is slightly smoother and less piney, with a little more citrus and a little less hop.. a gateway drug to the 90min.
To eat I chose the Flat Iron Steak Pretzel Sandwich, and it was a hard decision. Described on the menu as containing "onion dip,sea salt tomatoes", and "blue cheese potato salad" for the side. The Grilled Dry Aged Cheddar Burger with malted fries and the Crispy Salmon Sandwich with horseradish potato chips were hard options to pass on.
The grilled tomatoes really made this sandwich for me, paired with a delicious soft pretzel bun and well cooked, tender flat iron steak spiced lightly to let the meat speak for itself. The onion dip barely noticeable, but standing up next to the grilled flavor on the tomatoes, in their soft melty state, the dip wasn't needed. Overall the sandwich was absolutely delicious.
The blue cheese potato salad was a nice pair, and nice change from a normal fries or chips pairing. The blue cheese was really understated, and the dressing on the potatoes delicate, making this a much lighter side then one would expect.
Sharing a taste of a friend's horseradish chips, I can say they were devine. A hint of fresh grated horseradish root on them, really brighted the homemade chips and the Crispy Salmon Sandwich will easily be my choice next time I'm in the neighborhood!
So next time you're hitting up the mall at Ballston, skip the food court and cross the street over to Rustico for a bite!
This is what Rustico did, in Arlington, VA near the Ballston Common Shopping Center, one fine Saturday afternoon.
Their brunch menu and hundreds of beer selections could easily please just about anyone capable of making decisions in the face of such diversity. If I worked or lived in the area, this would easily be a top choice for happy hour and my waistline would be in trouble.
The draft menu, broken down by profiles, from Crisp to Hop to Smoke and Fruit & Spice, each beer coming in a taste size for those troubled by decision or wanting to explore, or a full glass for the people who know just what they want and go for it. If the 30 some drafts aren't enough, there is a second bottle menu with hundreds to choose from, so I'm sure they have something you'll like.
Their online Ballston draft menu seems to be missing a page, but I went with the Firestone Double Jack IPA, hearing great things about it in comparison to my favorite Dogfish Head 90 min. They are very similar in taste, hoppy, piney, sweet malt, and both outstanding beers. I would say the Double Jack is slightly smoother and less piney, with a little more citrus and a little less hop.. a gateway drug to the 90min.
To eat I chose the Flat Iron Steak Pretzel Sandwich, and it was a hard decision. Described on the menu as containing "onion dip,sea salt tomatoes", and "blue cheese potato salad" for the side. The Grilled Dry Aged Cheddar Burger with malted fries and the Crispy Salmon Sandwich with horseradish potato chips were hard options to pass on.
The grilled tomatoes really made this sandwich for me, paired with a delicious soft pretzel bun and well cooked, tender flat iron steak spiced lightly to let the meat speak for itself. The onion dip barely noticeable, but standing up next to the grilled flavor on the tomatoes, in their soft melty state, the dip wasn't needed. Overall the sandwich was absolutely delicious.
The blue cheese potato salad was a nice pair, and nice change from a normal fries or chips pairing. The blue cheese was really understated, and the dressing on the potatoes delicate, making this a much lighter side then one would expect.
Sharing a taste of a friend's horseradish chips, I can say they were devine. A hint of fresh grated horseradish root on them, really brighted the homemade chips and the Crispy Salmon Sandwich will easily be my choice next time I'm in the neighborhood!
So next time you're hitting up the mall at Ballston, skip the food court and cross the street over to Rustico for a bite!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Moley, moley, Guacamole!
I don't know if you've ever had store bought guacamole, but it's pretty disgusting. I've broken down and bought a couple in my life, not wanting to put in the effort to make my own, and they were always so terrible I couldn't eat them. Many people think they hate guacamole, because that's all they've had. This fresh, homemade version will win over anyone.. well, at least if they like avocados even a little bit. Creamy, yummy, fatty.. how could you not love them?
The hardest part of making guacamole is getting nice, ripe avocados. This is an art. Squeeze them a little... if they're hard, they need to sit on your counter for a week. If they're super soft.. too late, don't buy them. It's right in the middle where you want them, if you're going to eat them today. Often you have to plan ahead because at the grocery store, they are usually in the hard stage and need a good week to ripen. Once you have 2-3 ripe avocados, you're good to go!
When making guacamole I recommend you hand chop everything, getting the ingredients pretty small.. they're all just complements to the avocado, and the end result should be somewhat smooth and not have huge chunks of tomatoes or onions, or wet mush if you use a food processor.. so work on your knife skills and hand chop those ingredients tiny.
What you need:
3 Ripe Avocados
1/2 Tomato, chopped into tiny bits
1/2 medium red onion, chopped into tiny bits
2 Garlic cloves, more if you like a lot of garlic.. it's good for your heart! chopped into super tiny bits
1 Jalapeno (2 for hotter, 0 for no heat) I use 2. Remove the seeds and rinse the pepper, then chop into tiny bits
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped into tiny bits
A little lime juice, to taste, roughly 1 tbs.
A little salt, to taste, roughly 2 tsp.
"To taste" means you have add these a little at a time, mix up your guacamole each time, and taste.. best part of being a chef!
It's pretty simple, chop everything, mix it, add lime juice and salt to taste, and you have homemade guac!
Chop your tomato.
Chop your garlic.
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